The 4th Royal Bavarian Division was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army which served alongside the Prussian Army as part of the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

. The division was formed on November 27, 1815, as an Infantry Division of the

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

General Command (''Infanterie-Division des Generalkommandos Würzburg''). It was called the 4th Army Division between 1822 and 1848, again between 1851 and 1859, and again from 1869 to 1872.Wegner, p. 664; Bredow, p. 1248. It was called the 4th Infantry Division from 1848 to 1851 (as well as during wartime) and was named the

General Command from 1859 to 1869. From April 1, 1872, until mobilization for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, it was the 4th Division. In Bavarian sources, it was not generally referred to as a "Royal Bavarian" division, as this was considered self-evident, but outside Bavaria, this designation was used for it, and other Bavarian units, to distinguish them from similarly numbered Prussian units. The division was headquartered in

. The division was part of the II Royal Bavarian Army Corps.

Combat chronicle

The division fought against Prussia and its allies in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

of 1866, seeing action at Roßdorf and Roßbrunn. In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the division fought alongside the Prussians. It saw action in battles of Weissenburg, Wörth and Sedan, and in the Siege of Paris. During World War I, the division served on the Western Front. It fought in the

Battle of the Frontiers The Battle of the Frontiers (, , ) comprised battles fought along the eastern frontier of France and in southern Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The battles resolved the military strategies of the French Chief of Staff ...

against French forces in the early stages, and then participated in the

Race to the Sea The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from about 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne and was followed by the ...

, fighting along the Somme and in Flanders, including the First Battle of Ypres. It remained in the trenchlines in Flanders and the Artois, and fought in the

Second Battle of Artois The Second Battle of Artois (french: Deuxième bataille de l'Artois, german: Lorettoschlacht) from 9 May to 18 June 1915, took place on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the First World War. A German-held Salient (military), ...

and the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

in 1915. In 1916, the division fought in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

. In 1917, the division fought in Flanders, including in the Battle of Messines and the Battle of Passchendaele. For most of 1918, the division remained in Flanders, fighting at Armentières, Kemmel, Hébuterne, and Monchy-Bapaume. Late in the year, the division went to the Champagne region, where it faced the Allied Meuse-Argonne Offensive. After more fighting along the Aisne and the Aire, the division was withdrawn from the line, and spent the last week of the war on border defense in southern Bavaria and Tyrol. Allied intelligence rated the division as first class and of the highest quality.

Order of battle in the Franco-Prussian War

The order of battle at the outset of the Franco-Prussian War was as follows: *7. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches 5. Infanterie-Regiment **Kgl. Bayerisches 9. Infanterie-Regiment **Kgl. Bayerisches 6. Jäger-Bataillon **Kgl. Bayerisches 10. Jäger-Bataillon *8. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches 4. Infanterie-Regiment **Kgl. Bayerisches 8. Infanterie-Regiment **Kgl. Bayerisches 5. Jäger-Bataillon *4. bayerische Kavallerie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Chevaulegers-Regiment **Kgl. Bayerisches 5. Chevaulegers-Regiment

Pre-World War I peacetime organization

In 1914, the peacetime organization of the 4th Royal Bavarian Division was as follows: *7. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches 5. Infanterie-Regiment Großherzog Ernst Ludwig von Hessen **Kgl. Bayerisches 9. Infanterie-Regiment Wrede *8. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches 4. Infanterie-Regiment König Wilhelm von Württemberg **Kgl. Bayerisches 8. Infanterie-Regiment Großherzog Friedrich II. von Baden *4. bayerische Kavallerie-Brigade ** Kgl. Bayerisches 1. Ulanen-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm II., König von Preußen ** Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Ulanen-Regiment König *4. bayerische Feldartillerie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Feldartillerie-Regiment Horn **Kgl. Bayerisches 11. Feldartillerie-Regiment *Kgl. Bayerische 2. Train-Abteilung

Order of battle on mobilization

On mobilization in August 1914 at the beginning of World War I, most divisional cavalry, including brigade headquarters, was withdrawn to form cavalry divisions or split up among divisions as reconnaissance units. Divisions received engineer companies and other support units from their higher headquarters. The 4th Bavarian Division, commanded by Lieutenant General

Max Montgelas Count Maximilian Maria Karl Desiderius de Garnerin de la Thuile von Montgelas (23 May 1860 Saint Petersburg – 4 February 1938 Munich) was a Bavarian general and diplomat. Biography The grandson of Maximilian von Montgelas, he joined the ar ...

, was renamed the 4th Bavarian Infantry Division. Its regular 8th Bavarian Infantry Brigade was sent to the Main Reserve at Fortress Metz and replaced by a reserve formation, the 5th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Brigade with two reserve infantry regiments. The division's initial wartime organization (major units) was as follows: *7. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches 5. Infanterie-Regiment Großherzog Ernst Ludwig von Hessen **Kgl. Bayerisches 9. Infanterie-Regiment Wrede **Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Jäger-Bataillon *5. bayerische Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 5 **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 8 *Kgl. Bayerisches 5. Chevaulegers-Regiment Erzherzog Friedrich von Österreich *4. bayerische Feldartillerie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Feldartillerie-Regiment Horn **Kgl. Bayerisches 11. Feldartillerie-Regiment *2.Kompanie/Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Pionier-Bataillon

Late World War I organization

Divisions underwent many changes during the war, with regiments moving from division to division, and some being destroyed and rebuilt. During the war, most divisions became

triangular A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- collinea ...

- one infantry brigade with three infantry regiments rather than two infantry brigades of two regiments (a "

square division A square division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a square organization, the division's main body is composed of four "maneuver," i.e., infantry regimental elements. Other types of regiments, such as artillery, ...

"). The 4th Bavarian Infantry Division was triangularized in March 1915, sending the 8th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment to the newly formed 10th Bavarian Infantry Division. An artillery commander replaced the artillery brigade headquarters, the cavalry was further reduced, and the engineer contingent was increased. Divisional signals commanders were established to better control communications, a major problem in coordinating infantry and artillery operations during World War I. The division's order of battle on April 1, 1918, was as follows:Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle'' *7. bayerische Infanterie-Brigade **Kgl. Bayerisches 5. Infanterie-Regiment Großherzog Ernst Ludwig von Hessen **Kgl. Bayerisches 9. Infanterie-Regiment Wrede **Kgl. Bayerisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 5 *5.Eskadron/Kgl. Bayerisches 3. Chevaulegers-Regiment Herzog Karl Theodor *Kgl. Bayerischer Artillerie-Kommandeur 4 **II.Bataillon/Kgl. Bayerisches 4. Fußartillerie-Regiment *Kgl. **Kgl. Bayerische Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 4 *Kgl. Bayerischer Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 4

References

4. Bayerische-Infanterie-Division (Chronik 1914/1918)
a
1914-18.info
* Claus von Bredow, bearb., ''Historische Rang- und Stammliste des deutschen Heeres'' (1905) * Hermann Cron et al., ''Ruhmeshalle unserer alten Armee'' (Berlin, 1935) * Hermann Cron, ''Geschichte des deutschen Heeres im Weltkriege 1914-1918'' (Berlin, 1937) * Günter Wegner, ''Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1825-1939.'' (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993) * ''Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914-1918), compiled from records of Intelligence section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919,'' (1920)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:4th Royal Bavarian Division Infantry divisions of Germany in World War I Military units and formations of Bavaria Military units and formations established in 1815 1815 establishments in Bavaria 1919 disestablishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1919